A whispered fight in public between two lovers and a third party thinking about what they’ve said to each other, that’s what English lo-fi sonic wallpaper band the xx have been doling out since 2009 to almost universal acclaim and on Friday night, the second of two sold out shows at Hammerstein Ballroom, the band shows just how far these songs of scarred romantic business lovescapes has taken them.
“I can’t believe how freezing cold and snowy it is”, singer Romy Madley Croft notes in way of thank you, and the night outside is at least part of what the xx are selling to a quietly dazzled audience. The lights are a bright white, their clothes are jet black, the band members keep their distance from each other and theirs is a chilled, shaken but not stirred aura, the beats are like the sound of your heart after two Benadryls.
I am not a fan of the xx, and it comes down to the tunes, while they have a handful of goodies the bands melodies are too ethereal for me. I keep losing attention. And that was my problem with the band on stage. But I still thought they overcame any real qualms with a quietly distilled passion, Oliver and the other lead singer Jamie Smith traded songs, seldom singing together, and told stories of romance on the rocks with generic, highly functional lyrical acumen . They played bass and guitar while DJ Jamie xx programmed drums and loops and tended to take over the hook. Especially on a very good extended “Reunion” which seemed to point the band on alternative, somewhat more indulgent band future.
“Infinity”, another song with an extended end, Jamie singing “I can’t give it up” and Romy replying “Give it up” was the highlight of the night which is good because both their best song “Angel” and their second best song “VCR” failed to make a dent in the collective consciousness with bland by the number performances. And while the entire evening hit me as boring in its intensity, the band were absolutely in the moment and pushing as hard as you can with such delicate music. Certainly, it was more than just another concert to the xx. Jamie remembered the first time played NYC when he was 19 years old and I guess selling 8000 tickets (two nights at Hammerstein) might give you cause to reflect on how far you’ve come.
If I was a fan I would have been very impressed with this fine set, culling songs off their adored self-named debut and last years Coexist with precision, passion, intelligence and intensity. But they’re a drag. They need the “Y” chromosome in there somewhere. They are like the Kills with their balls chopped off.
Grade: C